BATON ROUGE -- Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal announced Tuesday that Angele Davis will serve as his commissioner of administration, making the 39-year-old Clinton native the top appointed official in state government and the new administration's voice on financial and budget issues.

Davis, who now serves as the secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism and has worked previously in the Division of Administration, will assume the job upon Jindal's Jan. 14 inauguration. The commissioner oversees the division, which controls and serves as the governor's chief liaison to the Legislature on all matters related to appropriations and state construction projects.

Her first tasks will be to assemble a spending plan for the $1 billion surplus that remains from the 2007 fiscal year that ended June 30 and to craft a proposed budget for the 2009 fiscal year that begins July 1, 2008.

Davis said identifying financing sources for whatever new programs come out of a February special session devoted to the ethics code also is a priority. Any significant changes likely would add to overhead costs at the state Board of Ethics.

"I'm looking forward to developing a budget that invests in the governor-elect's priorities," Davis said, listing economic development, education and health care in addition to ethics. "I'm particularly excited about the emphasis that he's placed on government and fiscal reform."

Spending targeted

Jindal, a Republican, defined his campaign in part on a promise to rein in "out-of-control" government spending, though he has yet to provide a detailed blueprint of what that entails. He pledged to immediately eliminate several business taxes that current law would phase out over the next three years; and he has called for dedicating at least $400 million in existing general fund revenue to the Transportation Trust Fund that finances construction and maintenance of public roads and bridges.

The tax cuts, if implemented immediately, could take several hundred million dollars out of the projected revenue for Jindal's first budget year, as would earmarking transportation- related taxes and fees.

"He has told me that he is interested in pursuing those items, but I've not talked with him in detail about those," Davis said.

Davis is not the first woman to serve a governor as chief budget officer. That distinction belongs to Stephanie Alexander, one of several commissioners to work for four-term Gov. Edwin Edwards. But with the appointment, a Jindal-Davis team will mark the first time that neither the governor nor his or her top appointee is a white male. Davis will succeed Jerry Luke LeBlanc, who has held the post for the duration of Gov. Kathleen Blanco's tenure as Louisiana's first female chief executive.

Accent on youth

The appointment also underscores the incoming administration's collective identity as one of youth: Jindal and his communications director, Trey Williams, each are 36; policy director Stephen Waguespack is 33; and Chief of Staff-designee Timmy Teepel is 32.

In choosing Davis, Jindal deviated from the common practice of tapping a former legislator, though Davis comes with considerable experience with state government and the budget process.

Davis worked previously as deputy commissioner of administration during the administration of Republican Gov. Mike Foster, who gave Jindal his first high-profile public job as secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals. She also has served as a proxy for Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, a Democrat, on the State Bond Commission, which controls the flow of investment in capital projects.

Published reports have said Jindal also considered Dennis Stine and Randy Ewing for the job. Stine, a former legislator, served as commissioner of administration under Gov. Buddy Roemer and ended up leading Jindal's search for a commissioner. Ewing is a former state Senate president.

Both are Democrats. Davis said she is a Republican, though she said that will not matter in her dealings with the Legislature. The majority-Democratic Senate will be led by Democrat Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan. The House, while majority-Democratic, will be led by Republican Jim Tucker of Algiers. Both floor leaders have promised to distribute committee chairmanships on both sides of the aisle.

Tourism efforts praised

Landrieu, who leads the state tourism office that Davis manages, described her as having "great organizational skills and a deep, intimate knowledge of state government." He praised her particularly for her work in jump-starting the tourism industry in south Louisiana since the 2005 storms.

Veteran state Rep. and Sen.-elect John Alario, D-Westwego, said Davis' experience will serve her well. "She has been around government enough to understand the workings of everything, the politics of the process," said Alario, the longest-serving member of the Legislature and outgoing House Appropriations Committee chairman. He added with a laugh, "I hate to see them break from" naming former legislators.

Rep. Karen Carter, a New Orleans Democrat whose district includes the French Quarter, said she has nothing but praise for Davis after working with her on tourism issues and when Carter served on the House Ways and Means Committee while Davis worked on Foster's budget team. Carter, who is backing Tucker for House speaker and vying to chair a major money committee, said Davis has established strong relationships with returning lawmakers.

Davis is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., where she lettered in basketball. She holds an MBA from Louisiana State University.

Jindal is expected to continue naming Cabinet officers in the coming days.

Bill Barrow can be reached at bbarrow@timespicayune.com or (225) 342-5590.